TapCritic – Honest iPhone and iPod Touch App Reviews

Ask and you shall receive, right?  Well, not always, but it sure does look like we lucked out in this case.

Shortly after publishing a (mostly positive) review for Card Ninja, I got an email from the developer thanking me for my review and letting me know that they would take my suggestions into consideration.  ”Yeah, right,” I thought.  I’d heard that too many times before.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I was asked to take a look at the newest version of the app before its release. I, of course, agreed.  And sure enough, my biggest complaint about the app was fixed.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen; Card Ninja now auto-saves your progress as you go along.  This means you don’t have to start from square one with each and every game–and thank God for that.  You can’t expect me to keep my mad ninja skills sharpened all the time.

In addition, the new version of the game uses Open Feint to save high scores and provides clues as to how one can successfully utilize the wild cards.  In other words, every problem I had with this app has been worked on.

It wouldn’t be a HAL9000 review if I didn’t offer some suggestion, though, so here goes.  Why not list the levels in a separate menu and let me access any of those I’ve beat at any time?  This way I can pick up at any point or sharpen those skills I might be lacking (because I suck at matching symbols and not colors).  Something to keep in mind for the next update.

Overall, though, this update is a vast improvement.  It should be hitting the iTunes store soon.  Check below for the original review….

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

Being a Ninja is one thing.  Anyone can manage that with years and years of training.  But being a card Ninja?  That takes a special kind of person.

Think you’ve got what it takes?  You’ll find out soon enough with Card Ninja by Pint Sized Mobile.

The premise of the game is very simple.  You start with a deck of cards.  Targets with different symbols and colors appear, and it is your responsibility (nay, dare I say it, your God-given destiny) to throw these cards at the targets (with a flick of the finger) with absolute skill and speed.  The goal is to hold on to a certain number of cards, completing the task quick enough to get a healthy number of bonus cards (you get one extra card for each second of time left on the clock).  If you succeed, you progress to the next level.  Fail, and you are forced to bow out in shame.

The challenges grow quickly, which is welcome in an iPhone world of easy-to-master apps.  At first, there are two different colors to sort through.  Soon its four, and just when you’ve mastered that feat, it’s time to match up symbols instead of colors.  Which is hard when they finally start throwing in moving targets.

The game design, overall, is great.  One thing that really stands out with this one is the sound design.  Cheesy ninja sounds abound, and over-the-top gong noises announce the next level.

There are, however, two very frustrating elements of this game–frustrating mostly because they could be solved very easily.

First off, there is no ability to pick up a lost game where you last left off.  While you can save a game in progress to come back to later, if you lose a game, a “game over” screen comes up, and you are forced to play from the beginning.  This means that no matter how far you have progressed, you have to keep spending time playing through the boring levels you’ve already mastered.  I hate this…there should be an option to pick up on any level you have conquered.  

Also, there are odd little “wild cards” that give you curses.  They don’t match up with any goals, and if you flick them into the ether of nothingness, you’re still penalized.  I’m not sure what to do with these cards.  I have no problem with having penalty wild cards–it would add to the fun of the game–but explain to me what their purpose is.  The game has no “how to,” which could easily solve this problem and help a person understand all the variables in the game more easily from the get-go.

So this one is quite flawed, but also very fun.  The gameplay works great with no lag, and it can get addictive…which makes it all the more frustrating when you lose.

But with all its flaws, Card Ninja is still a great buy for the low low price of $.99.  If the developers would fix these simple problems, it would be a steal.

If you have low self-esteem, though, avoid at all cost.  When you do poorly, a rather harsh statement pops up on screen.

“My grandma is more ninja than you.”

I cried for hours.

You can buy Card Ninja HERE.

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